PROJECT PROPOSAL FORMAT

This format has been established by the scientific community because of its clarity and organization. Each section must be clearly labeled using the headings in bold below. See Sample Proposal.

TITLE

Your Name

RESEARCH QUESTION: state your research question

State your research question.

HYPOTHESES

State your null hypothesis (H0) and your alternative hypotheses (H1, H2, etc.). The null hypothesis is the one that states there is no significant difference.

Date(s) and Times: include the date(s) you collected your data (give the year too); also include the times you will be collecting data (if relevant -- for example, time will be relevant for birds but usually not for plant abundance studies). Must show at least 8 hours of data collection.
Location(s): include study site location.
Sample: include placement and size of transects/observation areas, etc.). Also include total sample area size.
Data Collection: specifically, what data did you collect, and how did you collect the data. Must show at least 8 hours of data collection.
Data Analysis: specifiy how all data are to be summarized and analyzed.

Tables and Graphs: Each table/graph/map should be named (i.e., Table 1, Table 2, ... Graph 1, Graph 2, ... etc.). Each table/graph/map should contain a caption that includes enough information to allow the table/graph/map to stand alone so that someone would understand the data without reading the rest of the report (e.g., include dates, times, locations, sample size, etc.). Note: For graphs, put in fake data for now so that you and I can see what the data will look like. You will replace the fake data with the real data for the report.

Pechenik, J. A. 1993. A short guide to writing about biology, 2^nd ed. Harper Collins, New York.
McMillan, V. E. 1997. Writing papers in the biological sciences, 2^nd ed. Bedford Books, Boston.

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